Where are Cibola’s Missing People?
By: Diego Lopez Reporter
CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – Six people are missing from the Cibola County area. This number includes residents who have gone missing from as far back as 2002. There are numerous law enforcement agencies in Cibola County which all take special focus when an individual goes missing. Pulling out all the stops, Cibola’s law enforcement will deploy drones, K9s, reserve officers and take significant steps to find the missing person. The agencies have proven this in recent missing persons situations. Unfortunately, as this article will explore, not every missing persons case ends with a discovery; although, most situations where a person goes missing in Cibola County are resolved with a happy ending.
Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace explained that the rules governing missing people are not like in the movies or on television. Instead of waiting 24 hours to call in a missing person report, Sheriff Mace recommends family call as quickly as they can. Doing so will get the investigation started and increase the likelihood of finding the missing person.
The last missing persons case handled by Cibola’s law enforcement was on February 9 in the Village of Milan. Resolving in the discovery of the missing child, a student left Milan Elementary School without alerting anyone in the building. Milan Principal Clara DeArmond and her staff at the school worked quickly to canvass the campus, alerting Milan Police Department who arrived quickly. The missing student was discovered within 15 minutes of leaving the school, and he was safe. This operation included Milan Elementary, Milan Police Department, Grants Fire and Rescue Department, Cibola County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico State Police, and had Grants Police Department on alert. Milan Fire Department was not available due to COVID-19. According to Grants/Cibola County Schools Superintendent Max Perez, he and Grants High School security were searching the train tracks for the missing student. This effort showcases the lengths Cibola County will go to in an effort to find missing individuals.
Unsolved Missing from Cibola
Six people have disappeared from the Cibola County area and have not been located. Rumors of a serial killer in the Cibola County area have circulated in online spaces like Reddit, but law enforcement assured the public that such rumors are unfounded and there is no serial killer in the area.
The serial killer rumor began after Sean Lannon, a man who allegedly murdered three people in Grants, one in Albuquerque, and one in New Jersey. Before being transported to N.J. for trial, Lannon told Grants Police Departments that he killed 15 other people in Cibola County. Sheriff Mace explained that there was no evidence to support Lannon’s claims, and that it did not appear that any of Cibola’s missing people were affected by Lannon and his alleged murder spree.
On March 21, Grants Police Chief Jeff Marez told the Cibola Citizen that he had recently been briefed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In the briefing, agents with the FBI explained the investigation they conducted into Lannon determined that he did not kill 15 other people in Cibola.
Chief Marez and Sheriff Mace explained that there is no need to be concerned about these rumors. Crime suppression tactics and focusing on finding the missing people of Cibola County remain their priorities.
Jay Jackson Missing Since 2002
All details in this report were compiled for the Cibola Citizen by Milan Police Department.
It was Sunday, November 10, 2002 when Jay Jackson left his home around 6:30 p.m. to visit Pat’s Lounge, a now closed bar in Grants, N.M. According to Jackson’s wife, he called home around 10:38 p.m. but she was unable to answer the call.
Jackson’s wife had been preparing for work, and on her way, she stopped to pick up Jackson from Pat’s Lounge but he never came out. Because she was dressed and ready for work, she did not go inside the bar. Thinking he must have gone with a friend; she went to work.
Eventually, Jackson’s work called his wife demanding to know why he hadn’t shown up. At this point she called 911 and reported Jackson as a missing man. She was concerned because Jackson is a diabetic and did not take any of his medications with him.
At the time he disappeared, Jackson was 44 years old, stood at 5’8” and weighed 195 pounds. He was last seen wearing a purple jacket with the words “Flanandream Sautee Sioux Tribe” written on it. Jackson is a Native American male with brown hair and eyes with a scar on his chest.
Call Milan Police Department at (505) 285-3466 if you have any information on this unsolved mystery.
Eusebio Montoya Missing since 2008
Few details are available in the disappearance of Eusebio Montoya, this report was complied using information brought together thanks to Grants Police Department and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. In 2012 Grants Police Department changed its system, and in the process many of the documents pre-2012 became difficult to find.
On January 18, 2008, Montoya disappeared from his home on Oso Ridge Road, just off of Balsam Street, in Grants, N.M.
No one had heard from Montoya in a few days, which prompted his family to call 911, alerting the authorities to his disappearance. An investigation into Montoya’s disappearance was opened on January 21, 2008. Montoya left behind all of his personal effects and vehicles.
Montoya was 57 when he went missing and would be 71-yearsold today. When he disappeared, Montoya was last seen wearing a camouflage-print turtleneck with brown Carhartt overalls. He had a black Seiko watch and a custom Lucky 13 pendant that he designed.
Montoya is a Hispanic male with graying brown hair, green eyes and one prosthetic eye. He wore a welltrimmed gray beard and, at the time of disappearance, he had a large bald patch in the front of his hair line.
Call Grants Police Department 505-287- 2984 if you have any information on Montoya’s disappearance.
Steven V. Romero Missing Since 2008
This report was compiled by the Cibola Citizen using information from the New Mexico State Police.
On April 14, 2008 Steven A. Romero left his home in Magdalena, N.M., for a doctor’s appointment in Albuquerque, N.M. Romero was driving a blue 2003 Ford Ranger. He arrived in Albuquerque around 2 p.m., but he did not ever make it to his appointment. Instead, Romero went to his bank and was not seen in Albuquerque the rest of the day.
On April 15 in the morning, Romero stopped to eat breakfast at 1st Street Café, a now closed restaurant, in Grants, N.M. This was the last time Romero would be seen.
On April 16, Romero’s blue Ford Ranger was discovered on State Road 117, south of Grants. Two of the tires were deflated when law enforcement discovered the vehicle, the rest of the truck was undamaged. Inside the vehicle, law enforcement found food, water, soda, a baseball hat, and a copy of the Grants Daily Beacon dated April 14, 2008. Law enforcement also found a walking stick inside the truck. Missing from the vehicle was Romero’s GPS device, blue hiking backpack, and his personal identification information. According to NMSP, Romero was an avid hiker but the circumstances around his disappearance remain unclear.
At the time of his disappearance, Romero was 61- years-old, he would be 74 today. Romero was a 6’1” tall Hispanic man who weighed 185 pounds. He suffers from mild-adult muscular dystrophy and has an “odd gait” as a result. It is unknown what he was wearing at the time of his disappearance.
Call New Mexico Department of Public Safety at 800-457-3463 if you have any information on the disappearance of Romero.
Richard Williams Missing Since 2018
Few details are available in the disappearance of Richard Williams, a Black man from Pinehill, Navajo Nation, in Cibola County. This report was compiled by the Cibola Citizen using information from Ramah Navajo Police Department and the United States Department of Justice.
Richard Williams is a Black man from Pinehill, N.M. He was last seen by a friend who dropped him off at his house in the early morning.
Williams has brown hair and brown eyes. He is 6’1” and weighed 180 pounds when he disappeared. He was 65 when he disappeared and would be 69 today.
When he disappeared, Williams was wearing a dark green hooded jacket, a green and red shirt and blue jeans. He was known to wear an earring in his left ear and a necklace.
If you have information on the disappearance of Williams, please call Ramah Navajo Police Department at 505-775- 3224.
Barbara Ann Gould Missing Since 2018
The information in this report was compiled by the Cibola Citizen using information from the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office.
Barbara Ann Gould went missing in November 2018 from Thoreau, N.M. The Cibola County Sheriff’s Office went out in force to try and find her, but it was all to no avail.
Barbara was coming up on 74-yearsold at the time of her disappearance. She would be 77 today. Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace said that she struggled with mental issues, confirmed by numerous police reports.
On November 14, 2018, CCSO deputies performed a welfare check on Gould’s house to see if she was okay, a request made from her neighbors who were concerned for her safety after not seeing her. Deputies canvassed the area around Gould’s home. Over the course of multiple years, CCSO employed K9s, drones, and held multiple searches canvassing the Zuni Mountains and around Thoreau.
Barbara was 5’1” to 5’3” and weighed between 115 and 120 pounds when she disappeared. Gould has green eyes and was dressed in a brown jacket with black yoga-like pants, she had a yellow and black purse with her at the time of disappearance.
Call the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office at 505-876-2040 if you have tips or information on Gould’s disappearance.
Elaine Elisa Jaramillo-Vigil Missing Since 2020
Few details are available in the disappearance of Elain Elisa Jaramillo-Vigil. This report was compiled using information from the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State Police.
Elaine Elisa Jaramillo-Vigil was last seen leaving her home in San Rafael on June 11, 2020 at 8:35 p.m. She is 5’06” tall and weighs 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing a tan spandex muscle shirt with multiple colors and gray spandex capris. She wears contact lenses and prescription sunglasses.
Call the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office at 505-876-2040 if you have tips or information on Vigil’s disappearance.